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"We have a motto: GTS – God, team, self, in that order. The second that order switches up (is) the second we run into some trouble. It’s about the guy standing next to you. You worry about yourself last, and you put God first. And you play to glorify him."

– Brent Lavoie, Heralds coach on the personality of his program

"The program is centered on baseball, but more than that, it’s centered on building young men."

– junior Mike Rubio on what Whittier Christian baseball is all about

2014 Heralds roster

No.; Name; Pos.; Year

2; Mike Rubio; 2B/P; Jr.

3; Cooper Hughes; C/UT; Jr.

4; Billy Scolinos; OF/UT; Jr.

5; Trevor McGee; OF/UT, P; So.

7; Mike Rafter; SS/P; Sr.

8; Brian Rafter; CF/SS; So.

10; Joseph Cobian; 3B/1B/P; Sr.

13; Isaiah Carreon; OF/UT; Fr.

15; Jake Rivera; P/OF; Sr.

19; Dakota Veltkamp; 1B/P; Sr.

21; Damon Holm; OF; Jr.

22; Logan Contreras; P/OF; So.

27; Logan Veloff; 1B/C/DH; So.

44; Chris Thompson; P/UT; Jr.

Brent Lavoie coaches baseball in a vastly different generation than the one in which he played.

No longer do high school ballplayers follow instructions blindly and without question. Kids are more curious than ever, and coaches are adapting their approaches accordingly.

Lavoie, 33, calls it the “Why?” generation, and explains how this year’s Whittier Christian High baseball team has fostered his maturation as an educator, a baseball coach and a leader of young men.

“I’ve learned not to leave things unnoticed or unturned,” he said. “Every player is important; every play is important. You never stop teaching; you don’t ever stop teaching the game.

“You look for teachable moments,” Lavoie added. “Sometimes mistakes are good things if you can make them and then learn from them.”

When Lavoie was hired in 2011, he inherited a senior-laden team that made his inaugural season better than most.

Whittier Christian won 23 games and the Olympic League championship in a banner year for the program. Four players from that year’s team earned scholarships to play in college.

“That team set the tone for how things were going to go from then on,” said Lavoie, adding that he couldn’t take much credit for that season because he had “horses to work with.”

The graduation of seven starters from that 2011 squad left the program’s cupboard bare. And when returning multi-sport athletes opted to skip the 2012 baseball season, Lavoie was then saddled with a roster bereft of varsity experience.

Four freshmen wound up starting in prominent roles that season, and Whittier Christian finished 10-19 and out of the playoffs for the first time in years.

“We struggled,” Lavoie admitted. “We were overmatched, but we competed. We weren’t getting blown out of the water, but we just couldn’t find a way to come all the way back.”

Four months of playing close games that spring ultimately established the foundation on which Whittier Christian’s program currently stands.

Mike Rafter, a sophomore at the time, and Mike Rubio, a freshman, asserted themselves as program cornerstones, and Lavoie sagely coached up his underclassmen.

The Heralds won six more games in 2013 than they did the year prior, returning to the postseason once again.

“We work as one,” Rubio said. “We’re playing for the guys next to us; the guy pitching, the guy playing shortstop. It’s about more than just playing for ourselves.

The Whittier Christian baseball team before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Isaiah Carreon watches his Whittier Christian baseball teammates during a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Mike Rafter, of the Whittier Christian baseball team, warms up before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball head coach Brent Lavoie helps his team warm up before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball's Mike Rafter and head coach Brent Lavoie pose for a photo before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball's head coach Brent Lavoie and Joe Cobian pose for a photo before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball's head coach Brent Lavoie and Cooper Hughes pose for a photo before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball's Mike Rubio and head coach Brent Lavoie pose for a photo before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Whittier Christian baseball's head coach Brent Lavoie and Chris Thompson pose for a photo before a game at York Field in Whittier on Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2014. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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